In bhutan, a woman can have several husbsnd.
One Woman, Multiple Husbands And The Vanishing Practice Of Polyandry In Bhutan
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Polyandry is still practised in Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal and pockets of India.
By Zann Huizhen Huang | Daily Bhutan
An age-old practice that has gradually disappeared in some parts of the world, polyandry which means ‘many’ (poly) and ‘man’ (andros) in Greek, literally refers to a woman taking two or more husbands.
This rare and unique form of marriage custom existed in some communities for centuries but has mostly faded in the past few decades.
However, polyandry is still practised in Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal and pockets of India, particularly amongst the minority tribes living in the Himalaya region.
A system of union which most likely arose in populations where resources such as land and food were scarce, it could also possibly have been adopted as a way to address the issue of gender imbalance, that is, when there were more males than females.
Interestingly, in almost all cases, the kind of polyandry which existed was fraternal or adelphic (brothers sharing one wife) as opposed to non-fraternal polyandry, where a few unrelated men share a wife.
Reasons for practising polyandry in Bhutan
Borne out of necessity due to specific geographical challenges such as a place’s remoteness or lack of tillable land, the practice of polyandry allows family wealth and land to remain intact and undivided.
Young Layap with her baby at the Royal Highlands Festival.
Photo: Druk Asia
Having one woman married to a few brothers is a way to guarantee that their children would all inherit the pasture land and flocks together.
Conversely, if every brother had married separately and produced children, land and other properties would have to be split, this can be impractical in environments where resources are scarce.
Typically, the eldest brother usually dominates the household, and all the brothers are regarded as equal sexual partners of the shared wife.
In Bhutan, polyandry is still practised in the remote highlands of Laya as well as the Brokpa tribe living in Merak and Sakteng, district of Trashigang.
Pertaining to Laya, which remains largely inaccessible due to its geographical isolation, practising fraternal polyandry enabled the sharing of responsibilities amongst the brothers.